logo
'We should be disgusted by our lack of action and stop arms sales to Israel'

'We should be disgusted by our lack of action and stop arms sales to Israel'

Yahoo2 days ago

Protesters gathered outside an MP's office this morning (May 30) to call for an end to UK arms sales to Israel.
The group gathered outside Labour MP Yasmin Qureshi's office on St George's Road in Bolton town centre.
This comes as more than 300 actors, musicians, activists and others used an open letter to call on the Prime Minister to 'take immediate action to end the UK's complicity in the horrors of Gaza'.
Eileen Murphy, at the Bolton protest, said: "We're here to lobby MPs to stop arms sales to Israel as they are killing innocent children.
Outside the MP's office (Image: NQ) "We're calling for MPs to attend an early day motion which calls for an end to the UK's complicity in Israel's actions."
'Free Palestine, boycott Israel' messages stamped on bank notes and handed out by newsagent
A father's fear and heartbreak for his children in Palestine as conflict intensifies
'The images you see haunt you' Vigil held for children killed in Palestine
Former Horwich Labour councillor Kevin McKeon also joined the protests.
"Keir Starmer's government continue to sell arms to Israel," he said. "What's going on is horrendous and we should be disgusted by our lack of action as a country."
Kevin McKeon outside the town hall steps (Image: NQ) Prime minister Starmer and foreign secretary David Lammy have in recent weeks heightened pressure on Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu to make aid more accessible to Gaza.
The UK government also suspended trade talks with the Middle Eastern nation over its conduct in a war that has seen more than 50,000 Palestinian civilians die since Hamas' assault on October 7, 2023, killed 736 Israelis.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Starmer: Wave of investments will make military an ‘integrated fighting machine'
Starmer: Wave of investments will make military an ‘integrated fighting machine'

Yahoo

time40 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Starmer: Wave of investments will make military an ‘integrated fighting machine'

Sir Keir Starmer has pledged a wave of new investments to turn the armed forces into a 'formidable, integrated fighting machine' as part of the Government's defence review. The Prime Minister said he would invest in a military that is 'more integrated, more ready, more lethal than ever'. As part of the review, due to be published on Monday, the Government has pledged £1.5 billion to set up at least six factories, and will support the procurement of up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons. The move is in response to the review's call for an 'always on' munitions production capacity that could be scaled up quickly. The new funding will see UK munitions spend hit £6 billion during this Parliament and support around 1,800 jobs throughout the country. Sir Keir called the review a 'radical blueprint' that would drive forward investments in shipbuilding, drone technology and cyber defences. Preparing for the threats of tomorrow means 'bringing together every ­capability we have, from drones, to artillery, to human instinct and intelligence, into one formidable, integrated fighting machine,' he wrote in The Sun. 'To achieve this, we are announcing a wave of new investments in our Armed Forces across land, air and sea.' He said Labour would end the 'disgraceful hollowing out' of the armed forces. 'We will invest in a fighting force that is more integrated, more ready, more lethal than ever — putting Britain back where it belongs as a leader in defence and a leader in Nato. 'We will provide better kit for our warriors when they are fighting abroad — so that they can use the full range of conventional and technological ­capabilities.' Defence Secretary John Healey said the Government would embrace the recommendations in the review and make defence an 'engine for economic growth'. It will urge the the Ministry of Defence to lay the industrial foundations to boost weapons stockpiles to meet the demand of 'high-tempo' warfare. More than £1.5 billion in extra funding will go to military homes in response to the review. The cash will be spent on urgent repairs such as fixing boilers and roofs, and other issues including tackling damp. 'Our forces make extraordinary sacrifices to keep us safe and to serve this country and yet for years, we've forced their families to live in substandard homes,' Mr Healey said on a visit to military accommodation in Cambridgeshire. The Conservatives criticised the investment in munitions factories as too slow. Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said the Chancellor has used the strategic defence review to put an 'effective freeze' on new orders for military kit. 'It's a bit rich of Labour to talk about 'always on' munitions production when procurement has been largely switched off for the past year,' he said. He added: 'Of course, we welcome investment in new munitions factories, but we don't know when they will be ready, only that these orders should have been placed months ago. 'Ultimately, we need to see greater ambition for the pace and scale of rearmament our armed forces require, given the threats we face and the need to replace inventory gifted to Ukraine. 'That means 3% of GDP by the end of this parliament, and Labour properly prioritising defence spending – instead of seeking to outspend Reform on welfare.'

Hamas says ceasefire proposal offers ‘no guarantees' for end to Gaza war
Hamas says ceasefire proposal offers ‘no guarantees' for end to Gaza war

Yahoo

time44 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Hamas says ceasefire proposal offers ‘no guarantees' for end to Gaza war

The Palestinian group Hamas has submitted its response to a United States-backed ceasefire proposal, but a leading official from the group said the proposed deal offered 'no guarantees to end the war'. Speaking to Al Jazeera on Saturday, Basem Naim said that Hamas had still 'responded positively' to the latest proposal relayed to it by US special envoy Steve Witkoff, despite the Palestinian group saying that the proposal was different to one it had agreed upon with Witkoff a week earlier. 'One week ago, we agreed with Mr Witkoff on one proposal, and we said, 'This is acceptable, we can consider this a negotiating paper,'' Naim said. 'He went to the other party, to the Israelis, to get their response. Instead of having a response to our proposal, he brought us a new proposal … which had nothing to do with what we agreed upon.' In a statement released earlier on Saturday, Hamas had said that it had submitted a response to Witkoff, and that the proposal 'aims to achieve a permanent ceasefire, a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, and ensure the flow of aid' to Palestinians in Gaza. Hamas added that 10 living Israeli captives would be released as part of the agreement, as well as the bodies of 18 dead Israelis, in exchange for an 'agreed-upon number of Palestinian prisoners'. Witkoff called Hamas's response 'totally unacceptable'. 'Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,' the envoy said in a post on social media. 'That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families, and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Hamas's response, 'As Witkoff said, Hamas's response is unacceptable and sets the situation back. Israel will continue its action for the return of our hostages and the defeat of Hamas.' Israel has now killed more than 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023, with starvation looming across Gaza after weeks of Israeli blockade, and only a small flow of aid since Israel allowed it to resume in hopes for a permanent truce seemingly fading once again, the level of hunger and desperation inside Gaza grows, with Israel allowing only a trickle of humanitarian aid into the Strip after it had imposed a total blockade for more than two months. The UN warned on Friday that all of the 2.3 million population of Gaza is now at risk of famine. That came after it said in mid-May that one in every five Palestinians there is experiencing starvation. The World Food Programme (WFP), which has enough food ready near Gaza's borders to feed the besieged territory's entire population for two months, renewed its call for an immediate ceasefire as the only way to get the food to starving Palestinians. The UN's food agency said in a statement that it brought 77 trucks loaded with flour into Gaza overnight and early on Friday, but they were stopped by people trying to feed their starving families. The US- and Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) is continuing with its own controversial aid distribution, which other aid groups say could violate humanitarian principles and militarise the delivery of desperately needed food. The Gaza Government Media Office said this week that at least 10 Palestinians had been killed by Israeli forces while trying to get aid. 'We went to this new area and we came out empty-handed,' resident Layla al-Masri said of a new GHF distribution point. 'What they are saying about their will to feed the people of Gaza are lies. They neither feed people nor give them anything to drink.' Another displaced Palestinian, Abdel Qader Rabie, said people across the besieged territory have nothing left to feed their families. 'There's no flour, no food, no bread. We have nothing at home,' he said. Rabie said that every time he tries to get a box of aid at the GHF, he is swarmed by hundreds of other people trying to get it. 'If you are strong, you get aid. If you are not, you leave empty-handed,' Rabie added. There are also other risks. Families have reported that people have gone missing after reaching GHF distribution points. 'One of these cases is a man from the al-Mughari family – The family is appealing to the ICRC, OCHA, the civil defence teams, to go and search for him in that area – very close to the Netzarim Corridor [in central Gaza],' said Hind Khoudary, reporting from Deir el-Balah, central Gaza. Israeli authorities rejected the accusation, Khoudary Israeli army is continuing its attacks on Gaza, with the spokesperson of the territory's civil defence saying that approximately 60 homes had been bombed in the last 48 hours in Gaza City and northern Gaza. On Saturday, there were also reports from across Gaza of the Israeli bombing killing at least 20 Palestinians. More than 3,900 Palestinians have been killed since Israel unilaterally broke a ceasefire in March and resumed its devastation of Gaza, despite growing international condemnation. Since Friday's early hours, the Israeli army has also ordered 'all residents' of southern Khan Younis, Bani Suheila, and Abasan to evacuate immediately after it said rockets were earlier fired. 'The [army] will aggressively attack any area used as a launching pad for terrorist activity,' military spokesperson Avichay Adraee said in a statement. The area of southern Gaza 'has been warned several times in the past and has been designated a dangerous combat zone', he added. According to the UN, nearly 200,000 people have been displaced in the past two weeks alone, with displacement orders now covering the entirety of Gaza's northernmost and southernmost governorates, as well as the eastern parts of each of the three governorates in between.

Witkoff slams Hamas over ‘unacceptable' ceasefire proposal response
Witkoff slams Hamas over ‘unacceptable' ceasefire proposal response

Yahoo

time44 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Witkoff slams Hamas over ‘unacceptable' ceasefire proposal response

President Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said he received a response to the hostage proposal from the Palestinian militant group Hamas, slamming it as 'totally unacceptable' and arguing that it will 'only' take all sides involved 'backward.' 'Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week,' Witkoff, who has been Trump's point person in high-level diplomatic discussions in Russia and the Gulf, said in a Saturday statement on X. Witkoff sent over the proposal, which was approved by Israel, on Thursday. The framework included having Hamas, designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. government, release 10 living Israeli hostages along with 18 bodies from the Gaza Strip in exchange for a 60-day truce. Hamas received the proposal and was reviewing it on Friday and Saturday. The militant group then later on Saturday responded to the proposal, saying it is looking for a permanent ceasefire, guaranteed procurement of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the war-torn enclave and 'a comprehensive withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.' Hamas also added that 10 living Israeli hostages and 19 bodies will be exchanged for a number of Palestinian prisoners that would have to be agreed upon by all sides. Witkoff said on Saturday that his proposal is the 'only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families and in which we can have at the proximity talks substantive negotiations in good-faith to try to reach a permanent ceasefire.' Israeli foreign minister Gideon Sa'ar said on Saturday that Hamas launched the terrorist attack on southern Israel, killing around 1,200 Israelis and taking some 250 hostages and that the militant group is 'responsible for its continuation by refusing to release our hostages and disarm.' 'If France and the UK want to reach a ceasefire – pressure should be put on Hamas that continues to say No, instead of attacking Israel, which says Yes,' Sa'ar wrote on Saturday. Trump stated on Friday that Hamas and Israel were 'very close' to reaching a ceasefire agreement that would at least temporarily halt the nearly 20-month war in the enclave. Hamas also said that it was looking to amend the Israeli-backed proposal, specifically predicated on 'U.S. guarantees, the timing of hostage release, the delivery of aid and the withdrawal of Israeli forces,' according to the militant's senior official who spoke to The Associated Press. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store